Los Angeles: Two couples had an IVF nightmare. After a fertility lab mixed their embryos, each mother gave birth the biological child of the other.
Alexander Cardinale (41) and Daphna (43), spent several months with another couple before becoming suspicious enough to conduct a DNA testing.
That’s how they discovered that their little girl was not, in fact, biologically theirs — and the couple she did belong to had been raising their biological daughter as well.
The parents made the harrowing decision to swap babies when they were four months old, and now that Cardinales are suing their IVF clinic for medical malpractice, negligence, and fraud.
Daphna (43), said that this is something that has changed her life. “It is still a daily struggle, and will remain so.”
Mixup: Alexander Cardinale (41) and Daphna (43), welcomed a girl to their family in September 2019 following IVF treatment. They are pictured here with their younger daughter.
Swapped. After a lot of research, the couple discovered that they had been given a different embryo by their IVF facility. They are shown together
When Daphna, the Cardinales’ five-year old daughter gave birth in September 2019, another girl was born to them.
Alexander stated that Alexander had a primal reaction to first seeing the baby, noting that it didn’t look the same as Daphna or him.
He tried to shake it off, but he could not get over the sense that something was wrong.
At first, Daphna tried to convince Alexander — and herself — that there was nothing wrong.
“She looked so much different to us.” However, she stated that she still felt familiar because she was my child and she was mine.
Alexander said that his brain started to go dark after he’d had IVF.
The baby looked strange to them and they began to suspect that something was wrong. They decided to get a DNA test and were surprised at the results. They discovered that the baby was not biologically related.
Big mistake. The IVF clinic they went to later found that their embryo had been swapped with an embryo from another couple.
As other people started to comment on the way that the baby girl looked, their suspicions grew. Some even suggested she might be from a different race.
The couple was able to fall in love with their little girl despite nagging doubts. They described their time together as “sheer bliss”.
One day, something happened which only reinforced their suspicions that there was something wrong: their IVF clinic requested a photograph of their baby.
Daphna purchased a DNA testing and soon the couple had learned she was not genetically related.
Alexander stated, “That’s when all of our world fell apart.”
A lawyer was hired by the couple, and they were informed by the IVF clinic that their lab had mishandled the embryos. They had ended up with another couple’s embryo, and that couple had ended up with theirs — something they confirmed with DNA testing.
Moving places: They swapped their homes when they were just four months old after having spent time with each other and their daughter biologically.
They are holding the LA IVF Clinic accountable for malpractice and negligence.
Once they knew the truth, the Cardinales got to see a photo of their daughter for the first time. They learned that the other couple had named her Zoë, and they decided not to change it.
They began having regular visits with the other couple, even switching babies for short periods of time — but that soon became too hard.
The couple swapped their four-month-old daughters in January 2020.
The ordeal was not easy for all, but the families have now “blended” and spend their holidays and birthdays together.
But the Cardinales are still aiming to hold the clinic responsible, and are suing the Los Angeles-based California Center for Reproductive Health, and Dr. Eliran Mor, for medical malpractice, negligence, and fraud.